It would be more accurate to say that institutions are trying to fix things on a supra-national (or explicitly international) level. Subcultures themselves also hold this promise in that, if you’re using English as a language, it’s difficult to confine their spread within the borders of one nation. They tend to spill over borders. Yes, the internet helps.
I think (I don’t know, I’m not ChristianKI) that the parent comment relied on the fact that there’s a bigger gap between the modus operandi of non-affiliated individuals and that of (state) institutions than it used to be in, say, the 19th century. Involvement in politics used to be more consequential back then compared to the impact of an average political comment on the internet. Nation states have gotten bigger, more complex, and more stable now when compared to then, and in the past there was more chance for subcultures to pass the institutional threshold and become political parties. It’s very possible that one’s best hope is a subculture. One that may, just may grow to include powerful institutionally-affiliated individuals. (Heck, just look at LessWrong itself.)
It would be more accurate to say that institutions are trying to fix things on a supra-national (or explicitly international) level. Subcultures themselves also hold this promise in that, if you’re using English as a language, it’s difficult to confine their spread within the borders of one nation. They tend to spill over borders. Yes, the internet helps.
I think (I don’t know, I’m not ChristianKI) that the parent comment relied on the fact that there’s a bigger gap between the modus operandi of non-affiliated individuals and that of (state) institutions than it used to be in, say, the 19th century. Involvement in politics used to be more consequential back then compared to the impact of an average political comment on the internet. Nation states have gotten bigger, more complex, and more stable now when compared to then, and in the past there was more chance for subcultures to pass the institutional threshold and become political parties. It’s very possible that one’s best hope is a subculture. One that may, just may grow to include powerful institutionally-affiliated individuals. (Heck, just look at LessWrong itself.)